Complete Linked List Guide - Visual Learning + Code - Interactive Learning
Singly Linked List - DSA Learning Platform 🔗 Singly Linked List Master dynamic data structures with interactive tutorials and memory visualization 📚 Interactive Tutorial Learn linked lists step-by-step with hands-on examples Step 1: Understanding Nodes & Pointers A linked list is a dynamic data structure where each element (node) contains: Data: The actual value stored in the node Next Pointer: Memory address of the next node Unlike arrays, nodes can be anywhere in memory - they're connected by address pointers! See Node Structure with Addresses → Step 2: How Memory Addresses Link Nodes Each node stores the memory address of the next node: Node at 0x1A00 stores next = 0x2B00 Node at 0x2B00 stores next = 0x3C00 Last node stores next = NULL Watch Address Linking → Step 3: Why Insert at Head is O(1) To insert at the head, we only need to: Create new node at new address (e.g., 0x4D00) Set new node's next to current head's address Update head to point to new node's address Watch Head Insertion → Step 4: Traversal - Following the Pointers To find a node, we must follow each pointer from head: HEAD → 0x1A00 → 0x2B00 → 0x3C00 → NULL See Traversal Animation → 💡 Learning Examples 🔄 Reverse Linked List Learn the classic interview problem - reversing pointers step by step. Run Example 🎯 Find Middle Element Use the slow/fast pointer technique (Floyd's algorithm). Run Example 🔁 Detect Cycle Detect if the list has a cycle using two pointers. Run Example 🗑️ Remove Duplicates Remove duplicate values from a linked list. Run Example ⚙️ Operations 📥 Insert at Head (O(1)) Insert at Head 📤 Insert at Tail (O(n)) Insert at Tail 📍 Insert at Position Insert at Position 🗑️ Delete Node Delete Node 🔍 Search Node Search 🎬 Animations ▶ Traverse List 🔄 Reverse List 🗑️ Clear All ⚡ Quick Add Load Sample List 💡 Tips • Watch the memory addresses to see how nodes connect • Head pointer always knows the first node's address • NULL means end of list 🔍 Linked List Visualization List Size: 0 / 10 nodes | Head Address: NULL 📋 Status: Add nodes to build the linked list. Watch how memory addresses link each node! Insert Head O(1) Insert Tail O(n) Delete O(n) Search O(n) Access O(n) 📍 Memory Layout Address Data → Next No nodes in memory 🌍 Real-World Applications: Browser History: Back/Forward navigation (doubly linked) Music Playlists: Next/previous song navigation Undo/Redo: Text editors, photo editors Memory Management: Free memory blocks tracking Hash Table Chaining: Collision resolution ⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid: Losing Head: Always keep reference to head pointer Null Pointer Errors: Check if node is null before accessing Memory Leaks: In C/C++, free deleted nodes Wrong Pointer Order: When inserting, set new.next before updating prev.next Cycle Creation: Be careful not to accidentally create loops 💻 Code Examples C C++ Java Python struct Node { int data; struct Node* next; // Stores memory address of next node }; // Insert at head - O(1) struct Node* insertHead(stru...
Subject: Data Structures with Animation | Chapter: Linked List with Animation